This invention relates to a discharge-type ignition device for an oil burner, and more particularly to a discharge-type ignition device for an oil burner which is adapted to carry out ignition of a wick of the oil burner by electric discharge.
Conventionally, a filament-type ignition device has been commonly used for igniting a wick of an oil burner, which is generally constructed so as to red-heat a filament by means of a dry cell acting as a power supply, to thereby permit the red-heated filament to ignite the wick of the oil burner.
Further, a discharge-type ignition device for an oil burner is also known in the art. The discharge-type ignition device is classified into an ignition device which uses combustion heat generated from an oil burner as a heat source and a commercial AC 100 V power supply as a power supply for the ignition device and an ignition device which uses a battery means such as a dry cell as a power supply therefor.
The latter discharge-type ignition device using a battery or dry cell as a power source for electric or spark discharge is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 35244/1988. Unfortunately, it fails to be put into practice due to various disadvantages. Such a conventional discharge-type ignition device using a dry cell as disclosed includes discharge electrodes arranged so as to be spaced from each other with a combustion wick being interposedly positioned therebetween.
The present invention is directed to a discharge-type ignition device of the latter type which uses a battery or a dry cell as a power supply to carry out spark discharge between discharge electrodes, to thereby ignite a wick.
The conventional discharge-type ignition device using a dry cell as the power supply has a disadvantage that the dry cell fails to permit spark discharge sufficient for ignition of a wick of an oil burner to occur between discharge electrodes. Also, the conventional discharge-type ignition device using a dry cell causes a variation in height of the wick, a deterioration in surface of the wick due to settling of the wick, adhesion of tar to the wick or the like, and deformation of the wick with lapse of time, resulting in a variation in dimension or distance between the wick and the discharge electrodes. This causes spark generated by discharge to be deviated from the wick, leading to a failure in ignition of the wick and/or generation of white fume of fuel oil from the wick. This would be the reason why the conventional discharge-type ignition device using a dry cell fails to be put into practice.
Thus, an ignition device for an oil burner which is currently commercially available is limited to the above-described filament-type ignition device.
In view of the foregoing disadvantage, the assignee proposed a discharge-type ignition device for an oil burner which is constructed so as to generate spark discharge in the course of upward movement of a wick for ignition to a normal combustion position, to thereby ensure positive ignition of the wick while permitting a dry cell to be satisfactorily used for the spark discharge, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/187,318 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,479, May 9, 1995. The discharge-type ignition device proposed smoothly or positively accomplishes ignition of the wick by spark discharge, because it can eliminate the above-described disadvantage of the prior art and is inherently free of a disadvantage of a filament-type ignition device that a filament is readily exhausted, deformed and/or broken.
Nevertheless, it is still highly desirable to develop a discharge-type ignition device which is further simplified in structure and reduced in manufacturing cost.